The Secrets We Carried: A Bittersweet Small Town Romance About Returning Home to Face the Past and Find New Love

Butternut Lake #6

by Mary McNear

Readers who love Susan Wiggs and Susan Mallery will adore New York Times bestselling author Mary McNear newest novel. A young woman travels home to Butternut Lake, confronting her past and the tragedy she and her friends have silently carried with them for over a decade while also facing an unknown future. Butternut Lake is an idyllic place—but for one woman, her return to the lake town she once called home is bittersweet… Sometimes life changes in an instant.  Quinn LaPointe grew up on beautiful Butternut Lake, safe, secure, sure of her future. But after a high school tragedy, she left for college and never looked back. Becoming a successful writer in Chicago, she worked to keep out the dark memories of an accident that upended her life. But now, after ten years, she’s finally returned home. Butternut is the same, and yet everything is changed. Gabriel Shipp, once her very best friend, doesn’t want anything to do with her. The charming guy she remembers is now brooding and withdrawn. Tanner Lightman, the seductive brother of her late boyfriend, wants her to stick around. Annika Bergstrom, an old classmate who once hated Quinn, is now friendly. Everyone, it seems, has a secret. Determined to come to terms with the tragedy and rebuild old relationships, Quinn settles into Loon Bay Cabins, a rustic but cozy lakeside resort, where she begins writing down her memories of the year before the accident. Her journey though the past leads her to some surprising discoveries about the present. As secrets are revealed and a new love emerges, Quinn finds that understanding the past is the key to the future. 

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary, Romance, Audiobook, Adult Fiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2018

About the author

Mary McNear is the author of the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Up at Butternut Lake, published by HarperCollins. Up at Butternut Lake was the first book in the Butternut Lake series. The second Book, Butternut Summer, is now available. The third novel in the Butternut Lake trilogy, Moonlight on Butternut Lake, will be published in May 2015. A novella, Butternut Lake: The Night Before Christmas, was available in ebook form on December 9, 2014. The third book in the series, Moonlight on Butternut Lake, was published in May 2015. The fourth Butternut Lake novel, The Space Between Sisters, is due out June 2016.

Mary McNear lives in San Francisco with her husband, two teenage children, and a high-strung minuscule white dog named Macaroon. She writes her novels at a local doughnut shop, where she sips Diet Pepsi, observes the hubbub of neighborhood life, and tries to resist the constant temptation of freshly made doughnuts. She bases her novels on a lifetime of summers spent in a small town on a lake in the northern Midwest.

She can be found on Facebook at MaryMcNearAuthor

Reviews

[DJ Sakata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite Quotes:

Northern Superior High School had been built in 1930, when Americans still had a reverence for public education, and the two-story brick building, with a white stone arch over the entranceway and two white stone columns flanking it, spoke to the seriousness of the work to be done inside.

Her closest girlfriend, Katrina, referred to these relationships as Quinn’s “eleventh-month specials.” This wasn’t intentional on Quinn’s part. It wasn’t as if she kept an eye on the calendar as the anniversary of their first date approached. It was more like an inner mechanism of hers sensed a shifting of the light, a changing of the seasons. Either way, she was apt to end things before the earth had made a full rotation around the sun.


My Review:

This is one of those books that is hard to put down as I sense something important to the plot is coming that I really need to know and it is right around the corner, and it was true, but there are several more somethings, and then a few more I wasn’t expecting. I went at this book like an alcoholic on a binge as I couldn’t find a stopping place, nor would I have been willing to stop had I found one. Ms. McNear’s compelling characters and insightful and emotive writing held me in place and while it wasn’t a thriller or a suspenseful read, my curiosity was tripped while my heart was being mercilessly squeezed. This was the second well-textured and maddeningly paced book of Ms. McNear’s that I have devoured - and in much the same manner. I am greedy for all her words as this talented scribe has strong word voodoo.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following a tragedy that occurred during Quinn LaPoint's senior year of high school, she left for college determined to move on with her life. Yet the past still haunts her, affecting her ability to to develop close relationships. When someone sends her a newspaper clipping of a dedication being erected at the sight the tragedy occurred, Quinn feels it's time to deal with her past. She returns to her home town of beautiful, idyllic Butternut Lake, looking to heal and make amends. Some though do not welcome Quinn, and her once best friend is distant and aloof. As Quinn journals her past memories and connects with others affected by the loss, she slowly discovers she is not alone in her guilt and pain. Guilt can be a heavy burden to carry, haunting their memories. Together they discover a path that will allow them to embrace the future and forgive each other and themselves.
Another wonderful installment in the Butternut Lake series, although this could easily be read as a stand alone novel.
Fans of Susan Wiggs and Debbie Macomber will enjoy this series.

[Vivian Payton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary McNear’s THE SECRETS WE CARRIED is a novel that deals with loss, love, family, secrets, discoveries and healing. A terrible tragedy occurs many years ago when Quinn LaPointe was a senior in high school, and now she returns to her home and beloved Butternut Lake to face what she should have so long ago. After the accident, she left for college and never looked back. Guilt consumed her all these years, but now it’s time to return and face the darkness. She was a budding journalist who worked for her high school newspaper and now, ten years later, she’s an accomplished writer. Writing all the memories she has of that tragic night helps her heal, and McNear alternates between the past and the present.

Quinn is determined to seek out old relationships to begin the healing process. One of those relationships is her very best friend, Gabriel, who means more to her now than she could have possibly known back then. However, Gabriel isn’t as receptive to her as she thought he would be which hurts her to the core. “Since she returned to Butternut she’d foster a belief that seeing Gabriel was important to understanding her past.” More key characters are Jake Lightman, her late high school boyfriend, his brother, Tanner, and Annika Bergstrom, an old classmate who disliked Quinn. Quinn soon learns that all these characters are consumed with the same guilt she harbors, and once she begins to write her memories, her journey from the past helps to unfold secrets, new discoveries and new love.

I won this book from Goodreads, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was fast-reading and held my interest. The ending was tied up very nicely, and I was happy with the way it was done. What resonates with me is being able to go back to your roots, your childhood home and the memories held there, which I recently did. The new owners of my childhood home invited me into their home, and it helped me in so many ways. This is why I liked this book so much. I also decided to pass it on to another reader who said it was on her TBR list. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Mary McNear and thank you to Goodreads!

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

#FirstLine ~ Why am I here?

I love visiting Butternut Lake. Butternut Lake has such interesting people working through the thing we call life. McNear did such a great job creating a place that now feels familiar to me, as I have read all of the Butternut Lake books that McNear has written. In the newest installment The Secrets We Carried (Butternut Lake, #6) you get to know Quinn while she works through the past and has to figure what the future holds. It is filled with so much love...in various forms. Another sweet and deeply moving novel that is perfect for book clubs. 4.5 stars

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Mind twister going deep into the past trying to unravel how her ex boyfriend died. Quinn is a journalist who is great at digging out the truths when interviewing others.... but can she dig past her own mind blocks to come to peace with the tragic accident from her junior year in high school?

Very good- well written; descriptions and settings are perfect! Character development is good but also leads enough of the character’s secrets to the reader’s imagination. Very well done!!

[Katy O. · Rating 3 out of 5]

(free review copy) it was fine. but not at all like the other books in the series, and didn’t really tie those characters in, so I was disappointed

[Tandie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting, but the story moved way too slowly. Author waits too long to reveal anything, and when she finally does, it’s boom boom boom. The story needed some bombs dropped earlier to keep the reader invested in the story. The story is about guilt guilt guilt.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Secrets We Carried is a quick read but slow on revealing plot lines. The characters, for me, lacked maturity and thusly were not engaging. Guilt was the main theme.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published at Reading Reality

In my reviews of previous books in the Butternut Lake series I have said that Butternut Lake should be renamed “Second Chance Lake” because those stories have featured a second chance at love for the hero, the heroine, or both.

The Secrets We Carried does not follow the pattern of the previous books, and there’s nothing to keep a reader from starting here and deciding if you like the place and want to go back. I definitely like the place. A lot.

But this story is still about second chances. In the end, there’s even a second chance at love – but that is not the kind of second chance that is the centerpiece of this particular story.

This one is about a second chance at life. And it’s about finally forgiving yourself so that you have a chance at grabbing that second chance.

Because that’s what Quinn LaPointe needs to do. And that’s why she’s come back to Butternut Lake, the place she grew up, ten years after the tragic accident that overtook her senior year in high school. A tragic accident that she has never fully dealt with – or completely healed from. An accident that she feels at least partially responsible for.

But she’s not the only person carrying that particular secret. And she’s not the only person who has not been able to move her life past that terrible fixed point in time.

In her life post-Butternut Lake, she has kept moving forward, but she hasn’t moved on. An anonymous invitation to the dedication of a memorial to the accident, and the three young men who needlessly, recklessly, stupidly died in it, gives her the chance to take herself back to the place she once called home.

And gives her the opportunity that she needs. A chance to finally remember, an opportunity to hopefully understand, and above all, both the proximity and the distance that she needs to finally forgive herself.

Quinn needs to let go of her past, so that she can finally claim her future.

Escape Rating A: I wasn’t in the mood for a romance, and that turned out to be an excellent thing. In spite of the way that the blurb reads, and contrary to the previous books in this series, The Secrets We Carried is not a romance.

Instead, this book is more of a character study, crossed with more than a bit of “women’s fiction”. In other words, if a man had written this story, it would just be labeled “fiction”.

I digress – but mostly because I just finished this book and I’m still reeling a bit. This was absolutely marvelous – especially because it wasn’t what I expected. It went a whole lot deeper than that.

Quinn’s high school career ended in tragedy. Her boyfriend and his two best friends drowned in Butternut Lake under the stupidest of circumstances. Jake Lightman was drunk and so were his buddies. Jake drove his truck out onto the frozen surface of Butternut Lake one night in the late spring and just sat there, in the truck, until the ice gave way and the three young men drowned.

Quinn blames herself. She broke up with Jake that night because she caught him lying to her, and not for the first time. She believes that he drank so heavily because of their breakup, and that he was out in the middle of the lake because she told him that’s where she lost the promise ring he gave her.

So Quinn comes to Butternut Lake for the dedication of the memorial to his death, and the deaths of his friends.

But Quinn isn’t the only person who has spent the past ten years heaping blame on herself for the events of that long ago night. Or rather, a night that should be long ago but seems to be ever-present as Quinn decides to stay in Butternut Lake and finally process the events of that night by writing all of her memories.

As part of her “memory writing” she touches base with not just the events but also the people who were part of that time, and who, it turns out, also have not been able to let things go. The deeper Quinn digs, the more she discovers that there is plenty of guilt to go around.

And like so many burdens, once that guilt is shared, once all of the people who touched and were touched by those events lays out the part that they each feel they played that night, they reach, tentatively and together, for a truth that was hidden by the secrets they all carried. A burden shared is a burden halved. A burden shared by as many people as have a share in this one lightens their load, and their lives, to the point where they can put the past behind them. Forgive themselves but never forget.

This is a beautiful story where the only way forward is through. Everyone holds back and everyone hides pieces of themselves that have come to hurt to much to be revealed. Quinn’s need to get it all out there, at least in her own mind, conflicts deeply and realistically with her desire to bury it all as deeply as possible.

The ending, when Quinn finally reaches it, goes all the way back to the beginning. And it sets her free.

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should have been titled The Guilt We Carried instead of The Secrets We Carried. The entire book dwells on the how guilt can weigh us down throughout our lives and influence our lives.

Ten years after her high school graduation, Quinn LaPoint returns to her hometown and Butternut Lake. She needs to come to terms with a tragic accident that killed her teenage boyfriend, as well as two of his best friends. As a working journalist, Quinn plans to write about her high school experiences that led up to the accident, in hopes that writing will help clarify in her own mind what happened. Quinn thinks she may have caused the accident, and she knows for certain that her actions at the very least contributed to the three deaths. As she researches and writes her own story, she meets other people at Butternut Lake who also have feelings of guilt over those deaths.

I won this book from LibraryThing, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The book seemed a little slow in the beginning, but then grabbed and held my interest until the last page. I appreciated how the author subtlety showed that guilt affects us long after an event, and how necessary it is to come to terms with mistakes that have been made, learn from those mistakes and finally, to forgive one's self in order to move on.

[Siobhan Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing that intrigues me the most about this book is how it fits into a series. I get that it's a series of books that take place in the town of Butternut Lake, but now I want to know - is it more about different characters that were in this book? Other people entirely?

Anyway, this was a fairly standard read. Very much the kind of book you'd pick up in a rented cottage or something and read by the lake. Some drama, a bit of mystery, a lakeside town. For some reason all these kinds of books just tend to run together for me, but also make me fully want to move to a cottage town...

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love anything Mary McNear writes, and this book was near perfect. The story of a journalist who comes home to Butternut Lake to deal with her past. She faces questions, her own demons and regrets, and the people she once knew and loved. This book was unlike any other Butternut Lake book, but I loved it so. I’d give it a solid 4.5 stars. I just wanted one more chapter to finish it off.

[Darvionne J Givhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I really, really enjoyed! Even though there was only a slight interaction with a character from the previous books, I didn't mind because the story was so compelling. Tragic but compelling. I'm sorry my journey to Butternut Lake has come to an end!

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I am very glad that I won it on goodreads <3 . The writing was well thought out and the storyline kept you reading. Definitely would recommend.

[Julie Stauss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing!! We each have secrets we keep to ourselves but so many revolving around the same event.

[Lori Greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. Suspenseful, loving, 2nd chances.

[Fabienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The latest book in the Butternut series is a bit darker and edgier than the previous ones. Quinn had left Butternut after high school, not just to go to college, but to escape the memory of a tragedy that had shaken up her little town. Three high-school seniors died in an accident, including her boyfriend with whom she had just broken up. His heavy drinking caused the accident and Quinn cannot escape the guilt that gnaws at her -- would he have been drunk if she had not broken up with him? Now, years later, she is coming back to Butternut Lake, reconnecting with old friends and confronting that guilt, her own, that of others and much more.

Like in Moonlight on Butternut Lake, the romance is not necessarily the main attraction of this book, It's well-written, as usual, in a clear and concise style, making it an easy weekend read.

[Marta Ratliff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read Mary Mc Near before. Let me tell you she is on my list now. I loved The Secrets We Carried! Something that happened to these kids their senior year of high school affected their lives for years. After 10 years Quinn came back to Butternut Lake. She found healing and so did her other friends. They all thought they were responsible, but discovered none of them was the cause. Anyway I enjoyed this book very much. I was sorry when it ended. Thanks Mary for writing this book! I'm looking forward to reading all of your books!

[Sara Strand · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is being marketed towards people who like Susan Wiggs and Susan Mallery and I have to agree, if you are a fan of either of those authors you will like this book. It's the same writing style and it gives you the same feel as you read it. It also should be noted that this book is sixth in the Butternut Lake series but it is a stand alone book. I haven't read the others in the series but I didn't feel like I was missing anything by not reading them, but now I'm interested in picking the others up because I really liked this book.

The book follows Quinn and her recovery/grief/reckoning of the deaths of her boyfriend Jake and his friends Griffin and Dom. After the accident and graduation she left town and vowed to not come back. She gets an announcement in the mail of a memorial going up in their honor by someone anonymously so she decides that she needs to put the past behind her. She finds that people that she thought were friends aren't so much anymore and people who should be angry with her aren't and she's surprised at every turn. The entire book is Quinn navigating awkward encounters, stilted conversations avoiding obvious topics, and her trying to work through her guilt of that night because she believes she had a key part in their deaths. She soon discovers that others feel that same guilt and they have all been kind of stuck in that moment.

Overall? I really liked this book. I'm actually giving it 5 stars because I couldn't put it down, and it felt like the right book to read right now. I'll admit that Quinn is almost a little annoying and it feels like she takes on too much responsibility that I don't think a reasonable person would. It's hard to remember that the accident happened when they were still kids so I guess maybe that guilt would be expected. The best part of this book is that everyone is kind of webbed together and the ending is fantastic. I finished the book with an audible "wow" and immediately texted my friend that they had to read this book. Sometimes books with so many characters and different pieces gets tedious to keep together but the author really did a great job bringing it together to give us a great ending with no loose ends. Absolutely fantastic.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

The Secrets We Carried by Mary McNear is an engrossing journey of recovery.  Although this newest release is the sixth installment in the Butternut Lake series, it can be read as a standalone.

Following the tragic deaths of boyfriend Jake Lightman and his friends Dom Dobbs and Griffin Hoyer ten years earlier, Quinn LaPointe leaves her small hometown for college. After graduation, she begins working as a freelance reporter and stays as far away from Butternut Lake as possible. After receiving an anonymous announcement that a memorial is going to erected at the scene of the accident, Quinn decides it is time to try to put the incident behind her. Hoping to renew her friendship with Gabriel Shipp, she is surprised by his slight animosity towards her but she continues her efforts to find common ground. Quinn is also taken aback when Jake’s brother Tanner and Annika Bergstrom seem pleased to spend time with her. As she sifts through her memories with hopes of finally assuaging her guilt over her self-perceived role in the events that led to the three boys’ deaths, will Quinn finally make peace with her past so she can finally heal?

Quinn may have a successful career, but her personal life is lacking. She has not had any lasting relationships and her friendships are somewhat superficial. She is close to her dad and stepmother and they are concerned by her decision to return to Butternut Lake. The memories of her romance with Jake easily rise to the surface after she arrives in town and she hopes embracing these recollections will help give her a better understanding of the past. Will writing down these memories provide her the perspective she needs to come to terms with what happened?

Quinn is shocked when she learns Gabriel’s life took a dramatic turn after she left town. She is troubled by their encounters and she is at a loss as she tries to understand why he keeps trying to push her away. Quinn is also quite concerned by his appearance and reactions to her attempts to renew their friendship. Unbeknownst to Quinn, Gabriel is harboring his own secrets from their shared past.

Quinn is also quite curious about Tanner’s surprising friendship with Annika. She is equally puzzled by Annika’s friendly overtures towards her. The two women have never been friends and Quinn is stunned by Annika’s revelations.

The Secrets We Carried is a very engaging novel with a wonderful cast of characters and an enjoyable storyline. Quinn is very introspective as she tries to reconcile her guilt so she can move forward. Gabriel, Tanner and Annika must also come to terms with their perceived culpability in the tragedy. This latest installment in Mary McNear’s heartwarming Butternut Lake series is an endearing novel that features a winsome storyline, appealing characters and an uplifting conclusion.

[Susan Bragg · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I want to thank Goodreads for sending me a free copy of The Secrets We Carried through a Goodreads Giveaway. It is always an honor to receive one of the Goodreads books. The Secrets We Carried is an easy read but deals with difficult subjects such as the burden of guilt, the past and responsibility. The main characters in the story were each involved in a terrible tragedy while in high school that ended in the death of three dear friends. For ten years, the characters suffered in their own way with a secret they carried that kept them from moving forward in life. Quinn, Tanner, Annika and Gabriel each felt responsible for the tragedy that ended in the death of their friends. This book would make a great book club choice. The book is filled with topics that would stimulate a good discussion
For the fans of Susan Wiggs, I agree that you will love this book. Also, I have not read any of the other Butternut Lake books, and it didn't affect my understanding of this novel. Thank you again to Goodreads for allowing me to review this book. I enjoyed reading The Secrets We Carried. It was a reminder that life can change in an instant and that we are responsible for our actions and decisions.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come soon.

Quick thoughts:

I've enjoyed some of Mary's other Butternut Lake books and thought this would be a great read, but it was just ok.

Quinn returns home to Butternut Lake for a memorial type event for classmates who suffered a tragedy her senior year.

In the ten years that followed that night, Quinn's carried a secret- but she's not the only one. This tragedy has touched and shaped lives of many people in Butternut Lake and for some people the secrets from that night have altered their life plans.

I really thought this was going to be good, but Quinn spends a lot of time lamenting, wringing her hands over THE SECRET, how no one can know what happened that night with her Gabriel her BFF.

In the end, I generally find that books that spend a lot of time with characters focusing on the SECRET that must never be revealed just usually wind up being ok books and the same happened here.

More of a 2.5 star book for me (rounded up because Goodreads doesn't have half star ratings.

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, and wow. What a book. A tragedy, secrets, love, loss and so much guilt! So different from the other Butternut books, but what a story. This is the last of the series and I so wanted to take my time reading and savoring the last of these wonderful books, but, alas, Mary has worked her magic and it is impossible to put this one down and I had to keep reading. This is a terrific book and I love the author's manner of writing. I love Quinn, Gabriel and then there's Tanner, Annika, and the boys involved in the tragedy, not to mention the families involved. I love how the story weaves around all the characters, and in all it's sadness there is hope and love. I enjoyed the surprises Mary saved for the end. I know I read that this is the last one in the Butternut Series and I am so disappointed if that is the case. I would read anything Mary writes, I love her manner of writing that much. Thank you Mary for a wonderful series and I wish I could find Butternut Lake, I would definitely visit, oh heck who am I kidding, I would happily move there!

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books like this are always interesting to me because it was one that was well-written and engaging, but had just a little too much “umph” put on it at the end to drive the drama home. The story centers around the tragedy of three high school boys who drown after they drove a truck out on the middle of a frozen Minnesota lake in early Spring. By the end of the story, everyone seemingly had a reason to blame themselves for why the truck stopped on the ice in the middle of the lake and why the boys never made it all the way across. The main character, one of the boy’s high school girlfriend, has secrets that put her boyfriend on the lake to begin with, and at the tale end, we find out that another character has reason to suspect he is to blame. It seemed like one reason would have been enough, and blame should solely rest on the driver of the truck who made the poor decision to begin with, but alas, then we may not have a story at all. So, worth the listen, but had just a tad too much drama there at the finale.

[Christine Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quinn fled from Butternut Lake, determined to escape her past. But those ghosts will not be laid to rest. When Quinn returns to Butternut Lake for a dedication ceremony for classmates who perished her senior year, she believes it will be a quick visit. However, each time she begins to leave, she learns a new piece of information that leads her closer to what happened that fatal night on Butternut Lake when her boyfriend and his 2 best friends were killed. While the mystery deepens, Quinn tries to make amends with her best friend from high school, Gabriel. He is only a shadow of the man he once was and seems to be intent on not rekindling his old friendship with Quinn, no matter how hard she tries. The twists and turns in the novel will leave you turning to the last page!

Thank you LibraryThing Early Reviewers for the copy of this book! I loved it and am interested in the other books in the Butternut Lake series.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Everyone and his brother (literally) have been carrying a "guilty secret" for the past ten years. Get over it! The secrets are not that big! Maybe when the characters were in highschool, but not by now.

No one was responsible for a teen getting drunk and driving with two of his friends out onto a frozen lake, where they drown when the truck falls through.

* Not the girlfriend who told him she was pregnant.
* Not the girlfriend who just broke up with him. Plus, she lost the ring he gave her.
* Not the brother who brushed him off on the telephone.
* Not a classmate with a crush on one of the girlfriends, who siphoned gas from his tank.

The characters are one dimensional. I got no feel for the area, the supposedly beautiful lakes, the descriptions came up short and flat. The characters were all whiners who mostly stuck around a do-nothing town, doing just that, nothing.

[Ann Boytim · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Going back to Butternut Lake Quinn LaPointe hopes to find some answers to something that happened in her senior year of High School. Quinn is now a freelance writer and wants to write the story but just for herself not to publish. Quinn was the girlfriend of one of the boys who died when the truck they were in slipped under the ice of the lake. Quinn feels she is partly to blame for this accident when her boyfriend Jake who was driving the truck drunk with two of his friends after he had had an argument with Quinn. Jake's brother also has guilt feelings as well as two others in the story.
Who is to blame or was it a true case of an accident? Carrying guilt for ten years and hoping to find answers these people come together to find the answers and hopefully get on with their lives.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten years ago, three high school seniors died needless, useless and heart-rending deaths. So why does Quinn want to return to Butternut Lake where the tragedy occurred? Why did she receive the anonymous newspaper clipping announcing the date of the dedication for the three young men? What happened that night between Quinn and Jake? And what happened that same night between Quinn and Gabriel? These are some of the questions I asked myself as I was reading. This is a story of love, trust, forgiveness and healing. I would love to visit a place like Butternut Lake.

The Secrets We Carried is #6 in the Butternut Lake series; however, each book is a standalone novel with a focus on different characters.

[Priya Shrinath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please visit my blog for a full review: https://syllablesofswathi.wordpress.c...

The Secrets We Carried – Mary McNear
Published: September 25, 2018 by William Morrow, HarperCollins

Swathi’s Rating: 3.8/5

Verdict: A cute little book with an emotional heart-warming story!

I’ve always a woman-centered storyline with a dark past, and a struggling present to achieve a brighter future. It’s just motivating and realistic as well! This book is cute as button, and has a charm to its midwestern setting. The description of the place called Butternut is about to teleport you to a beautiful rural atmosphere, which you would badly wish to be real!!

[Leona Sweet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book that I have read about Butternut Lake. It sounds like a beautiful place to have bon fires on nice nights next to the lake. The story of 3 young friends losing their life too soon is a tragedy shared by many small communities. Quinn went back to her hometown to learn about these young men, one of them being her boyfriend who she had just broken up with. She learned that her old friend who worked with her on the high school newspaper had some issues and after repeated attempts to meet with him and talk the issues out, he became her best friend again and they were off to far away places.